Chapter 209

Chapter 209

[Entrance Exam (5)]

The exam question is simple. You just need to touch me standing here.

Shin Seoyoung shrugged her shoulders as if it was not a difficult task.

In contrast, the surface she stood on was heavily undulating, the wind was howling, and flames and lightning appeared and disappeared.

Noona, arent you going too far? To ask someone whos taking the academy entrance exam to be able to move through that, is that even possible?

Even freely moving on the surface of the water required significant training.

Among the students applying to the academy, there would be very few who could achieve such a feat.

Well, thats the point. Its supposed to be the most challenging test. But if you can solve the problem I set, an A+ is guaranteed, so dont worry.

But its not a problem that they set to be solved, so naturally, if you solve it, youll get an A+.

Hey, if a guy talks too much, hes not attractive at all. Why hesitate? Just come at me.

Fine.

Eunha swept his hair aside. Although he complained about the odd difficulty level of the problem, he had no intention of giving up.

He aimed to enter the academy with high grades.

So, he had to solve the problem set by Shin Seoyoung.

One way or another, he was going to have to solve the questions.

A thousand steps

Its not impossible.

For anyone applying to the academy, it might have been a difficult problem, but for Eunha, it wasnt.

Fast.

Shin Seoyoung watched Eunha evade the tree branches shooting up from the ground without any effort, occasionally repelling them with a touch of his mana-infused hand.

Fast.

And efficient.

She couldnt rule out the thought.

I wonder if he can escape this one?

Shin Seoyoung continued to move her Mana Resonance without pause.

She cast all kinds of spells to prevent him from touching the surface of the water.

Every time, he circled around the lake, dodging the attacks effortlessly.

His eyes, like a wolf stalking its prey, were fixed on her no matter the situation.

What is he planning?

A sudden counterattack.

Seoyoung frowned at the attack that came from beyond.

It was powerless. It was just mana scattered by his hands.

In the meantime, he changed direction and made a straight line across the lake.

What on earth is he thinking?

Shin Seoyoung cast flames and lightning while expanding her magical barriers to block his path effectively.

Thats Advanced Control Technique!

Isnt it impossible?

Their gazes met.

Shin Seoyoung was amazed as she saw the figure emerging from Eunhas shadow.

Advanced Control Technique.

It was a skill where a player, who had reached a certain level of expertise in mana manipulation, interfered with someone elses mana control.

Although it was a technique taught at the Player Academy, there were hardly any players who used Advanced Control Technique so casually.

She couldnt believe her eyes as she watched him distort the rushing flames and lightning, deflecting them away.

Now she realized he was only distorting the magical spellwork covering him.

Flames and lightning were shocked and bounced away.

It was the pinnacle of efficiency.

Impressive, but its still impossible.

Even if I cant use my full strength like before, I can handle this much!

Shin Seoyoung designated the entire lake and expanded her spellwork.

With her internal mana, this much wasnt difficult.

The water rippled like waves, and dozens of water streams followed him closely, trying to catch him.

How will you avoid this?

She looked at him with an intrigued expression, acknowledging his skills.

If the mana in his body had reached the level of a caster, she would have made him <The Seed>, even if it meant quitting as an academy instructor.

Examinee number 635, Bae Subin.

As soon as she heard the explanation about the third-round test, she decided to find the most challenging instructor.

She believed that there was no problem she couldnt solve, no matter which instructors question it was.

I regret the second round.

While wandering around the academy grounds, she recalled the morning exam.

The second round where she had to avoid rubber balls.

When she first took the test, she had thought of avoiding the balls like the other kids.

However, the kid who had spread light over the entire rubber ball during the mana examination had deployed a barrier.

Fueled by competitiveness, she ended up deploying a barrier like a kid.

And she lost.

Subin couldnt maintain the barrier until the end of the exam.

It wasnt because she lacked mana; it was because the longer it took, the harder it became to concentrate.

This time, Ill get a better score than that kid.

Receiving an A grade wont depend on just that. Other proctors will probably present more challenging problems than that.

The third round exam was quite lengthy.

There was still time.

Subin adjusted her plan to find a proctor somewhere on the academy grounds.

But who is that guy?

She should have seen his face.

Her intuition as a top contender told her that it would be better to remember him.

No, its okay. Anyway, Ill probably meet that kid at the academy.

Subin scolded herself.

Both the child with the ribbon and the child by the lakewhy were there so many competitors?

Having finished her self-reflection, she resolved to focus on the exam once again.

Noona, dont you think youre being too hard on me? What do you want me to do in the next test?

Eunha, having just finished the exam, lay sprawled on the ground.

His clothes were soaking wet. It was understandable since he had been running around on the waters surface.

Sorry, I got carried away having fun

Shin Seoyoung awkwardly offered a smile.

She realized she had gone too far, especially after she had approached him with the mentality of dealing with industry people from the middle onwards.

Really, that was too much. What would we have done without these?

Food is prohibited in the exam venue. Drinking is prohibited too.

Then, noona, did you really act as a proctor for this exam?

Eat it secretly. I didnt see anything.

Eunha took a cookie from his pocket and popped it into his mouth.

He was lucky the cookie wasnt wet.

Although it was a small amount, he absorbed the mana-filled cookie and felt the mana melting into the world.

This was the test that had brought him so close to using the nameless gift.

There was a risk that using the gift might cause a decline in abilities during the fourth exam.

He needed to quickly recover his mana.

He concentrated on absorbing external mana.

By the way, Eunha, your skills are really. If thats the case, why did you join the Player Academy?

I dont think Ill be able to be a player until I leave the academy.

The third year of the Higher Academy should be enough for you.

Are you telling a 13-year-old kid to hurry up and hunt monsters?

I cant believe youre only 13 years old.

Eunha didnt respond to her words.

In truth, he didnt disagree with what Shin Seoyoung said.

Since anyone could apply to High Academys third year regardless of age, there wouldnt have been a big problem if he had applied.

He believed in himself, confident that he could obtain player qualifications within a year.

But that wasnt the right path.

There were limits to becoming strong alone.

In the world, there were many things one couldnt do alone.

Moreover, the monsters he had to kill from now on werent creatures a single person could defeat.

Furthermore, to protect Baekryeon, he needed the strength to resist hostile forces.

Thats why he gave up on entering the third year of High Academy.

To capture the people he would meet at the academy and strengthen them.

Additionally, to find the roots he hadnt discovered yet.

So what? Whats my score?

Im not telling you that, kid.

During the second exam, I at least knew my approximate rank.

A+. Originally, I came out with guerrilla tactics to surprise the test-takers. The proctors thought no one would be able to solve it.

But I did?

Thats why. Because of the relative evaluation, theres only A+ for you.

Well, Im relieved then.

It was a pleasant sound to hear.

Oh, by the way. I forgot to mention this. The fourth exam will be held in the basement auditorium of the lecture hall.

Come to think of it, you said you would give me information about the fourth exam after I passed the third exam. Whats the fourth exam?

Its a labyrinth expedition.

The one my sister took as an entrance exam?

Well, its more of a challenge than that. Here, take this one first. Youll need it for the test.

What is this?

Eunha took the card from Shin Seoyoung.

The card, the size of a regular playing card, had a sheep drawn on it.

Ill explain the content of the fourth exam from now on. Eunha, youll be in charge of the sheep role when the fourth exam starts.

Sheep?

Eunha furrowed his brows as if to ask what she meant.

Yeah, follow my lead. Baa, baa.

Seeing Shin Seoyoung playfully make fun of him, Eunha scrunched up his face.